U.S. diverts resources from domestic needs

Opinion: As world's cop, U.S. diverts resources from domestic needs

Our invasion of Iraq caused all kinds of problems only now being more fully recognized. The financial cost is now estimated at more than $2 trillion while thousands of returned troops have post-traumatic stress disorder and there is a total lack of personnel and facilities for their care. And now there is ISIS.

Some pundits and politicians (the usual suspects) have declared there would be no ISIS if President Obama had not removed all American troops from Iraq. They forget that a status of forces agreement, signed before President Obama took office, stated all American troops would leave except those assigned to our embassy.

A better declaration would be that if we did not invade Iraq in 2003 there would be no ISIS. Saddam Hussein simply would not tolerate it.

Perhaps we should remember that it is our inherent strength as a nation that forms the strength for our foreign policy. As we use our resources policing the world, we abdicate our responsibility to provide domestic programs that educate our people to make America strong economically so we can address our social, political and environmental needs.